Five Things to Watch when South Carolina plays Arkansas.

We all know by now that South Carolina allows its shooting to dictate the way they rest of its game goes. So you probably don’t want to hear that Arkansas is holding opponents to 40 percent shooting this season, just outside the top 50 in the country. The good news (or bad, if you like points) is that South Carolina is even better, holding opponents to 38.6 percent, 26th in the country.

South Carolina is, most likely, going to have defend and rebound without the benefit of a lot of shots going in. It was able to do that against Tennessee, so there is precedent for it, but not much.

2. More Minaya

With his career-high twelve rebounds against Vanderbilt, Justin Minaya passed Maik Kotsar for the team lead in rebounding (by just two rebounds), averaging 6.3 rebounds per game. It does say something about South Carolina’s post players that a 6-6 wing is the leading rebounder, but it also says something about Minaya’s tenacity at the rim.

“Justin’s playing stronger than anybody at the basket right now,” Frank Martin said. “His aggression on the glass (is best on the team).”

Minaya has been the exception to the “shoot well, play well” problem. He has been aggressive even when his shot isn’t falling, especially on the glass. He had ten rebounds despite going scoreless at Tennessee, and that made it easy for Martin to stick with him until his shot started falling again.

“Justin’s a rock,” Martin said. “He plays with a desire, enthusiasm, and energy. That’s every day in practice.I’m really happy that he’s starting to gain tremendous confidence in himself.”

3. Looking for momentum

Arkansas started the season 12-1, but has split its last six games, and nobody is really sure what to make of them. They have a NET ranking of 28, but haven’t broken into the AP or Coaches’ Top 25 all season, and a lot of those wins came against teams with a direction in their name. In conference, two of the losses came to LSU and Kentucky, and the wins are over the bottom of the league.

South Carolina has a much different resume, but finds itself in the same situation. It has the top ten wins and is coming off a win over bottom-dwelling Vanderbilt, but also has those ugly non-conference losses. Like Arkansas, they are 3-3 in the SEC, and nobody is sure if either team is a contender in the SEC.

For that matter, nobody knows who actually is a contender in the SEC. Just last night, Auburn needed a double-overtime comeback to beat Ole Miss, and Texas A&M and Mississippi State won at Tennessee and Florida, respectively. Momentum seems to change by the day, and whoever wins this game will have it for at least a few days.

4. Pregame atmosphere

South Carolina is just 4-9 all-time at Arkansas, and has lost five of the last six, with only a win in 2016. It’s not just South Carolina, either. Arkansas is 11-1 at home this season, with the lone loss coming January 18 against Kentucky, 73-66. Arkansas’ famously passionate fan support has been a big part of the home success. Average attendance for Arkansas home games is 14,973, with sellouts of 19,200 for three of the last four home games. That has Martin nervous.

“There’s 17,000 people waiting for you when you walk on the court to shoot warmup shots,” Martin said. “The arena’s going nuts already. Home court environments aren’t just about ten minutes before the game, they’re about an hour before the game. They’ve got that.”

South Carolina has generally played well on the road this season. The Gamecocks are 4-2, with only the losses to Auburn and a game against Tennessee they probably should have won. But Martin thought the crowd had an effect before the Auburn game. Auburn has a much smaller arena (seating 9,121) than Arkansas, but a similar atmosphere. South Carolina ended up losing that game in lopsided fashion, an experience Martin doesn’t want to repeat.

5. Scouting the Razorbacks

It seems like Arkansas has a never-ending supply of exciting guards who can light up the scoreboard. This year it is Mason Jones and Isaiah Joe. Both have seen their scoring average jump this season under Eric Musselman. Jones, who also leads Arkansas in rebounds, steals, and assists, is third in the SEC at 18.6 points per game. Joe is fifth in the league at 16.8 points per game, although he is only shooting 34.4 percent from three after shooting 41.4 percent last season. Defending those two will be South Carolina’s top priority.

Another key will be rebounding. The Razorbacks are last in the SEC in rebounding, and don’t have a player over 6-8. That should be a boost for the Gamecocks, particularly Jaylin McCreary and Alanzo Frink, who have been dealing with bigger, stronger post players most of the year and now get to go against someone their own size.

The Ws

Who: South Carolina (11-8, 3-3) at Arkansas (15-4, 3-3)

When: Wednesday, January 29, 8:30 pm

Where: Bud Walton Arena, Fayetteville, AR

Watch: SEC Network